


Trying Times

by cantabrasil03



Series: Case-se Comigo [8]
Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Gen, more makogou family fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-20
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2018-01-02 03:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantabrasil03/pseuds/cantabrasil03
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Uncle Rin gives his nephew The Talk (or tries to)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Minoru is my creation. Maiha belongs to digitalsoop.

Makoto still remembered the day Gou sat him down and told him she wanted to start a family. He remembered the day she called him at school to tell him they conceived, her voice so full of joy he could cry (he almost did). He could still remember with startling clarity the day Minoru was born (how could he ever forget?), his offended cry silenced the moment he was placed in his mother’s arms. Not once throughout his son’s childhood did Makoto think it would one day all be over, that one day his little boy wouldn’t be so little. He was too busy enjoying every second, delighting in each new accomplishment, in each word learned, in each star given at school, in every “I love you, Papa” and every request for just one more bedtime story.

Makoto had been an early bloomer- the first of his friends to experience a change in his voice, first of his friends to buy a razor.  Now, as he watched his son dutifully help his daughter with her homework, he realized Minoru was quickly approaching that stage in his life.

“No, no, Maiha, you take this number here and carry it over,” Minoru rasped, his voice cracking. He blushed, but Maiha seemed to take it in stride. Makoto knew Maiha adored her brother. She wouldn’t dare risk upsetting him with teasing.    
  
There was no denying that Minoru was growing up. At thirteen he already reached Makoto’s shoulder- if he kept growing like his father, Makoto knew he would likely reach six feet by his first year of high school.  

Gou was the first to bring up the issue.

“Look what your son brought home today,” she tossed a bag full of chocolates on their bed. There were pink envelopes littering the pile.

“My son?” Makoto felt his eye twitch.

“He said a girl confessed to him today too,” Gou raised an eyebrow.

“A girl? Already?” He was a little hurt that he was hearing this from Gou and not his son. “He didn’t tell me anything about it.”

“He probably didn’t think it was a big deal.  I asked him about it; it’s what you have to start doing with him. He’s getting to be that age, you know.”

“I guess so.” Makoto looked thoughtfully at the bag. “He got a lot of chocolates. What are the envelopes?”

“He said they’re more confessions,” Gou gave her husband a sly look. “I have a feeling his father had similar issues.”

“And his mother didn’t?”

“Not the point. Did you notice his voice?”

Makoto sighed. “Yes.”

“He’s growing up, Makoto. He’s not a little baby anymore, is he?” She sounded almost sad. With a soft smile, Gou reached for her husband, and let him pull her into a hug. “You’re going to have to talk to him about this.”

“I will?”

She pulled back and gave Makoto a _look._ “Who else is he going to talk to?”

“Well, I talked to my dad, but Ren came to me. He said it was less embarrassing. Maybe Minoru wants to talk to someone else too.”

“But you two are so close!”

“Gou,” Makoto deadpanned. “He didn’t even want to tell me about the girl that confessed to him.”

“True.”

He groaned into her hair. Gou smiled, sympathetic. “Well, we have a son _and_ a daughter. Eventually, it will be my turn.”

He held up a hand, horrified. “One child at a time, _please_.”


	2. Chapter 2

Though Makoto would have loved to guide his son through this trying time, he also knew that his own conversation with his father had been fraught with embarrassment and awkwardness. Makoto knew his father had done his best, but he envied Ren the opportunity to go to someone else with such a…delicate topic.

“Rin, I need a favor,” Makoto explained the situation, hoping Rin would understand. “I was wondering if you could take Minoru for an afternoon and talking to him about these things.”

“Isn’t that your job?”

“Well, yes, but it’s like I was telling you.  I think Minoru would benefit from talking to one of his uncles.”

“Hell no. Ask Haruka.”

“Haru told me to ask you!”

“Damn him. What about Nagisa? _”_

“I don’t think Minoru would benefit from having Nagisa handle this conversation. I wanted someone who…went through the same experience as Minoru is now.”

Rin laughed. “You mean who _wasn’t_ late to the party?”

“Rin, _please.”_

“What about Rei? And don’t you have a brother?!”

“Ren is out of town this week, and Rei…well…you know how Rei is with this kind of thing.”

“Damn it.”

Makoto sighed. He didn’t want to do this, but Rin forced his hand. “You know, Rin, I seem to recall when Minoru was little-“

“Oh, no-“

“He found a pen and drew all over the walls -“

“Son of a-“

“And Gou never found out-“

“Alright already!”

And that was how Rin found himself with his nephew at home. Minoru had grown to look even more like his father, if that was even possible. He had Makoto’s wide palms and even wider shoulders that were being further shaped by butterfly. Still, he was very young, so the growth spurts made his body look somewhat awkward. _Like the ugly duckling_ , Rin thought. _When had he gotten so big?_

The little boy he had babysat and dressed in a shark costume was quickly growing into a young man. The ladies would certainly be all over his good looking nephew, and Minoru was a loving kid. Someday soon he would maybe find a girl he liked too-

 _Shit_.

“So, uh,” Rin cleared his throat. “How’s school?”

“Fine,” Minoru replied. “I have a lot of homework to do this Sunday.”

“Yeah?” This was going to be difficult. “So, uh…how’s your voice?”

That may have been too heavy handed judging from the blush that colored his nephew’s cheeks.

“Sorry,” Rin ran his hand through his hair nervously. “I didn’t-“

“No, it’s ok,” Minoru looked at his hands. “They told us at school this would happen.”

“Yeah, they start you guys pretty early on that stuff. But it’s good. So you can be prepared for when you start changing.”

“I didn’t think I’d be the first one, though. It’s embarrassing.”

 _Definitely his father’s son._ Rin sighed. “Look, it’s ok to feel kind of awkward. You’re going through a lot right now and it’s normal. Everyone goes through it. I did, your dad did, Uncle Haru too.”

“I know that,” Minoru shook his head. “But it’s…”

“Different from what they tell you in school?”

“How did you know?!”

“Trust me, squirt, they don’t tell you the whole story in school.”

His nephew looked thoughtful, and Rin began to panic. That look was never good. “Well then…what’s the whole story?”

Definitely not good. He wished he had just told Gou about the markers on the wall.

“Well…uh…” Rin sputtered, his face hot.

“Uncle Rin, are you alright? You look red.”

Rin pinched the bridge of his nose, at a loss. “I don’t think you’re ready for the whole story yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” he hesitated. “Because not even I know the whole story yet. You learn as you go. And if you have questions you can always ask me, or your dad, or any of us. Deal?”

“Deal.”

The rest of the conversation was not as painful as Rin thought. Minoru was feeling mostly awkward and embarrassed about the changes in his body. Rin sympathized, and took advantage of the opportunity to review the topics of sex and reproduction that they discussed in school. He figured if girls were confessing to his nephew, as Gou had said, then it was better to be safe than sorry.

“So, what happens if the condom breaks?”

“Uh-“

“And what if she isn’t on another birth control?”

“Well-“

“Can’t the girl get pregnant?”

“Yes,” Rin was quick to affirm. “That’s why you have to be very careful with the condom.  And even if you are, it can still break.”

Minoru looked thoughtful again.

“It seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through.”

“You say that now, but one day you may think differently.”

“Well, what do I do then?”

“Huh?”

“When I think differently, what do I do then?”

Rin shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want to tell Minoru something that may get him killed at the hands of his sister later.

“Look, er, I think that conversation should wait. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Unless,” he eyed his nephew warily. “ _Is_ there someone you feel like that towards?”

“No,” Minoru shook his head. Rin held in a sigh of relief.

“Well, when you do, we can talk again. Or better, you can talk to your dad. He started dating your mom when they were pretty young.”

“Yeah, that’s what Mama told me.”

Rin smiled. “Don’t worry about that yet. It’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen. You just worry about school, and swimming. Everything else will follow.”

Minoru brightened at that. “Thanks, Uncle Rin.”

 ~

“How did it go?” Makoto held his phone with his shoulder while he adjusted his stack of notebooks.

“It was alright. I think we’re all lucky he’s a smart kid.”

“Did he ask a lot of questions?”

Rin had to laugh at that. “Hey, he’s Gou’s son. He wanted to know everything. We had to save some stuff for when he’s a bit older. I’ll let you deal with that in a few years.”

“Like what?” Makoto leaned forward in his chair. “What did he want to know?”

He could almost hear the smug grin in his brother-in-law’s voice. “I wouldn’t worry about it now. He’s still got a few years before that comes up again. Good luck, _dad.”_


End file.
